History Of Snowflake

In April of 1877, the Mormon Prophet Brigham Young called several men and their families to leave their homes in Utah for the purpose of establishing new settlements in the ArizonaTerritory. William Jordan Flake was one of those men, and with his two wives, Lucy and Prudence, although happy in their home in Beaver, Utah, viewed Young's call as coming from God, and made preparations to leave in the fall of that year.

The trip was hard and long because the winter that year was one of the coldest on record. They arrived on the banks of the Little Colorado River near what is today Winslow in the spring of 1878. Conditions were not hospitable. Their attempts to dam the Little Colorado met with failure, and Flake concluded that he must search for a better place.

Flake and his brother-in-law A.Z. Palmer rode horseback into New Mexico and back into Arizona, finally coming upon the headwaters of Silver Creek. Following this ever-flowing spring, they came upon the ranch of James Stinson.

Stinson was farming and raising cattle in the land adjacent to the creek. Flake proposed to buy the ranch, and Stinson was agreeable. A deal was struck for $11,000 worth of cattle.

Flake and Palmer returned to their family in July with descriptions of a pleasant place with grass and clear water, and their families were eager to go. They arrived in the valley on July 23, 1878.

Different than the rough towns that often sprang up in the ArizonaTerritory, the Mormon pioneers were determined that civilization, education, and culture were important. Churches, schools, and solid homes were constructed, and plays, musicals, dances and celebrations were enjoyed along with the hard work necessary to establish themselves in a new land.

Snowflake has enjoyed a modest, but steady growth through the years, and many descendants of those early pioneers still live on in the town. New families, "modern pioneers" are today making their home in Snowflake, to enjoy the friendly residents, clean air, and safe neighborhoods that still retain the pioneer atmosphere that is rare to find.

Today, the Town of Snowflake is a bustling center of commerce and economic activities for northeastern Arizona, connected to the global community through major transportation routes and the digital age.